Artefacts, image by Michael Beets

Artefacts | A Virtual Reality Experience

Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with State Library Victoria

Dates

Thu 23 May 11:00am - 5:00pm
Thu 23 May 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Arterfacts: A Virtual Reality Masterclass
Fri 24 May 11:00am - 5:00pm
Sat 25 May 11:00am - 5:00pm
Sun 26 May 11:00am - 5:00pm
Mon 27 May 11:00am - 5:00pm
Tue 28 May 11:00am - 5:00pm

Tickets

Free, Booking Required

Venue

Create Quarter, State Library Victoria
328 Swanston Street, Melbourne VIC, Australia

Access

Accessible bathroom, Assistance animals welcome, Hearing loop available, Seating available, Wheelchair accessible

Explore 180-year-old artefacts found in the Metro Tunnel Project archaeological digs.

In the lead up to the opening of the new State Library Station, State Library Victoria has partnered with Metro Tunnel Creative Program to present this unique VR experience from Michael Beets. Visit 19th-century Melbourne and explore the artefacts uncovered during the tunnel’s archaeological digs – one of the largest archaeological digs in Victorian history.

More than a million items were found in the excavation works for the Metro Tunnel Project including teeth, coffee beans, chalk boards and more. Artefacts breathes new life into these century-old items, fleshing out vivid stories about their environmental, ecological, and social context. Using an Oculus headset, be transported to pre-colonial woodlands and the various time periods each artefact originates from.

Artist Michael Beets will host a special masterclass on the 23rd of May, where he will provide insight into the process of visual design, from the initial concept for Artefacts through to storytelling and development. Beets’ virtual reality projects, music videos, and films have been screened at festivals around the world including Venice Film Festival, Cannes, Busan, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Artefacts is presented by Metro Tunnel Creative Program in partnership with State Library Victoria.

Participants

Michael Beets

Michael Beets is an award-winning director. His virtual reality projects, music videos, and films have been screened at festivals around the world including Venice Film Festival, Cannes, Busan, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Melbourne International Film Festival. In 2018 his interactive VR work titled The Unknown Patient was nominated for two awards at the 75th Venice Film Festival and won the VR Award at the Adelaide Film Festival. His 2020 horror film In the Shadow it Waits, a film performed, shot, and edited live recently premiered at Raindance Film Festival and is touring the world.